The Cold End
by demonbunny7
Summary: A new serial killer is in town and some of our beloved team get into a spot of trouble. Will have some Jisbon and Grigsby
1. Prologue

Hi guys, as promised in my last fic, here is my other story. I'm posting this earlier than intended. It's something of a get well gift to someone. You know who you are :)

OK so in reality this is my first fic ever. I started writing this before "Running Late"

The chapters may be slow in getting posted. That is because I am slow at writing. I hope you all bear with me.

There isn't really any pairings in this fic, but that could change down the track.

As per usual I do not own The Mentalist or any of its characters. I'm just toying with them for my own personal amusement.

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_Time._

_Such a prospect so simple yet complex._

_You think you could control it. But that was only an illusion. _

_It would not wait for you. It would not be tamed by you. It would not care whether you wasted it away like money at the slot machines._

_It told us when to eat, when to sleep, when to go to work. Told us how many candles to put on the cake each year._

_It was never ending._

_Never ending but still never enough._

"Come on, just open your eyes for me." He pulled her closer.

_Never enough to do all the things you wanted to do._

_Say all the things you wanted to say._

"Please open your eyes." His voice a mere whisper as he caressed her face "You promised."

_But that didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered._

_She used to think there was always a later._

"I'm sorry..." The silence and darkness swallowed her words. Then she gave into it.

_At least she believed in heaven._

"Grace!"

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	2. Chapter 1

Okie dokie, I felt really bad leaving you all with such a short chapter so here is the next one.

And if you have the time, please review. I love hearing from you all. It helps to motivate me and it tells me what I am doing right or wrong.

Enjoy!

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_They hadn't lasted long. Not as long as he would have liked anyway. Maybe he had to refine his technique. He certainly wanted to make it last. But he just couldn't help himself. _

_The power he felt. Never in his life had he felt so strong, so in control. _

_It was probably the adrenaline rush that made him sloppy. But it didn't matter, there would be more. More to fill the quota._

_Looking around he saw the ignorant world pass him by. None the wiser that they had just passed a man who had ended the life of two people. _

_He didn't see himself as a murderer per se. More of a justice seeker. Not like those bastard cops. They were the real killers. Flashing their badges, thinking it gave them a licence to do whatever they wanted. _

_Laughter caught his attention. Looking over he saw what he presumed was a newly wedded couple. Both sporting wedding bands. Eyes only for each other. Not a care to what was going on around them._

_It made him sick. How dare they? Do they even know what it means to really love?_

_Make that ultimate sacrifice?_

_He might just have to test their loyalties out._

_Looks like he has someone new to practice on after all._

*************************************************************

Tuesday morning and the office couldn't be any quieter. It had been a relatively slow few weeks. Not that the officers were complaining. In fact 'no news was good news' as the old adage went.

Lisbon was in her office, Cho was searching the net, Rigsby was searching the fridge, Van Pelt was checking the weather report and Jane, well Jane was bored.

That was never a good thing in the eyes of his colleagues. It left his brain to wonder and think of new and fantastical ways to bug them.

But one target of his had always been his favourite. Such an easy mark most of the time, yet surprised him constantly none the less. Very contradicting. He loved it.

"Stand up"

"Sorry?" Van Pelt turned in her chair to see Jane standing over her. A boyish grin gracing his features.

"Stand up." Jane repeated looking at her expectantly.

Not knowing where this was going, a look of confusion spread across her face, and after a few seconds of deliberation she rose from her chair.

Maybe he was going to show her another trick.

"Hmm..." Jane studied her for a few moments, turned and walked away.

OK, maybe not.

As he reached his destination, the couch, he sat down and pulled out his puzzle book. Immersing himself in it. Acting as if nothing had been said at all.

Grace looked over at Rigsby who, having come back from his expedition with a sandwich, had watched the entire exchange.

He shrugged back as if to say 'It's Jane, do you expect any sense?'

She lowered herself slowly back into her chair, perplexed, wondering if she should ask Jane what was going on.

Curiosity got the better of her.

"Uh Jane? What was that all about?"

"Hmm?" He looked up as if noticing her for the first time. "Oh I was just checking something."

"Checking what?"

Jane smiled with the innocence of a new born, his soft curls falling to the side as he tilted his head. But before he could form a response, if he was at all going to respond, Lisbon stepped out of her office, strode across the bullpen and into the middle of her team.

"We got a case. Double homicide. Bodies were found last night under a pier in the Bay City area by a couple of passers by. A Caucasian male and a Caucasian female, both with lacerations to their upper backs and wrists and what the coroner said looks like severe hypothermia." She paused as she looked at each of them "There was also a message left behind."

"For who? The family?" Wayne Rigsby queried.

"No. For us." Lisbon received four curious looks. "The message said 'For every year that was taken away, so will a life. Justice will be served. Catch me if you can.' "

Jane stood up and walked closer to the messy circle the group had unwittingly formed.

"Do you have a copy of the note? Maybe I can get something from the hand writing."

"That might be a bit difficult." Lisbon watched Jane's brow wrinkle "The message was cut into the bodies with what may have been a scalpel or other sharp tool. Worst thing is that it looks like it was done while they were still alive."

She got the responses she expected. Van Pelt's hand covered her mouth, gasping in disgust. Rigsby looked away. Cho's frown deepened while Jane's eyebrows rose as he uttered a simple "Oh"

After the brief silence Lisbon continued. "Here's what we know. Jake and Jennifer Carson, aged 28 and 25 respectively. They were a recently married couple living in downtown L.A. Husband worked as a car salesman and the wife was a florist. They were reported missing four days ago by the wife's sister Amy. She was supposed to meet her for lunch but Jennifer never showed. After various calls to both their home and workplaces, she got worried and contacted the police."

Lisbon started to hand out copies of the crime scene photos.

"Both had taken a pretty severe beating. First half of the message was on the husband's back, the rest on the wife's. Rope burns around their wrists and feet, suggesting they were tied up, and their bodies showing the effects of hypothermia. Seeing as it's summer time, that would suggest a freezer of some kind rather than washed up from shore."

The team slowly flicked through the photos, seeing that the commentary Lisbon was giving them was only a brief summary. It looked so much worse. Bruises piled upon each other suggesting the torture started from day one. What the couple were forced to endure, they would never really know. Just the terrible after effects.

Jane took two steps over to Grace's desk and motioned to the corner where there was a lone cup of coffee sitting there. His intent was clear. He wanted to sit.

Grace made a show of looking at the spare desk not five feet away before reaching over and moving the offending cup. All Jane could offer was a smile. Or was that a smirk?

As he took his place on the corner of the desk, he lifted up the photo containing the message. Back to business mode.

"Obviously our guy has a distaste for cops. Someone in his past, or family even, was either taken to prison or killed by a cop. He could also be talking about himself. He may have been sent to prison wrongfully and he is angry."

"Why a he?" Lisbon put out to the room. She knew why but wanted to make sure her agents were on the same page.

Rigsby spoke up "Mr Carson is a big man, looks over six feet, quite a solid body. To overpower him and the wife, our unsub has to have a bit of strength himself."

Cho decided to add on to that. "Also the carvings in the back suggest a male. Females aren't known to express their anger that way. Usually it's a note or recording left behind. This guy is malicious."

Jane nodded then continued.

"Our guy is issuing a challenge. He wants the attention. 'Catch me if you can'. Quite a bold statement. Suggesting he is over confident. He will keep flaunting more bodies until he is caught. Or until he runs out of years to which he is referring"

Rigsby looked up from his thoughtful pose.

"That's good though right? It means he might get cocky and make mistakes."

"Au contraire my dear man. If he thinks he is getting justice for lost years, he doesn't want to mess it up. He wants us to pay the full sentence with death. Rubbing it in our faces. No this guy is smart. He'll play his cards right."

"OK" Teresa Lisbon took back the floor. "Cho, you go to the car dealer where Mr Carson worked. Rigsby, you go to the wife's work. Van Pelt I want you to pull up any surveillance tapes that were in the area of the dump site while Jane and I go visit the sister."

That was followed by a chorus of 'Yes boss' and 'On it boss'.

It looked like their Tuesday was no longer quiet.

*************************************************************

"Thank you for meeting with us."

Agent Lisbon was the first to enter the apartment of Amy Butler. Jane not too far behind. Nodding his head at Amy in a consoling way, he moved around the room taking in everything he could.

Family photos adorned the walls. Pictures of Jennifer - Jenny as Amy said she preferred- were everywhere suggesting they were close.

No sign of a man living here so she was single. Rooms were spick and span but Jane thought it more due to the obsessive cleaning spree to take her thoughts from her sister than what was the norm. In fact she was still restacking magazines as they were talking.

The apartment complex was deceiving. From the outside it didn't look too flash, but inside it was well designed. Spacious even. Everything was brand new, from utilities to fixtures which suggested money.

As Lisbon continued to question her about when and where she and her sister were supposed to meet, Jane monitored. Watching for dilated pupils, sweaty palms, fidgeting. All the classic signs of a guilty conscience. None were present. Just pure distress over losing a loved one. He could sympathise. Obviously she had nothing to do with the murder.

"Do you know if your sister was having an affair? Seeing anyone on the side?"

"Jane" Lisbon admonished

Jane kept staring at Amy, waiting for the response. He didn't have to wait long.

"Of course not. How could you ask that? They were the happiest couple I have ever seen. Never doing anything without the other one present." Amy protested, tears in her eyes, voice wavering.

"I'm sorry, had to make sure. Do you know of any knew friends? Anyone come into their lives recently?"

"Uhh… No, not that I know of. They kept to a close circle of friends."

"You mentioned before that they did everything together. What kind of things?"

Amy smiled as if remembering fond memories. "Yeah, they really were a match for each other. Had the same interests you know? Horse back riding, rowing, bike tours." she started to laugh to herself and shook her head. "They even had the same fear of heights. Crazy. They went to a group about it. That was where they started rock climbing. It was supposed to help them with their fears. Facing it head on as it where."

"When did they start the rock climbing group?" Lisbon asked

"Oh just recently. Maybe a week ago. In fact they were going to a session the morning I was supposed to meet Jenny."

Lisbon and Jane looked at each other. Bingo. A lead.

They asked a few more basic questions then left their contact card in case Amy remembered anything else. In turn they grabbed the address to the rock climbing centre.

*************************************************************

The car ride over was spent mostly in silence save for Jane reading out directions.

Lisbon liked it when Jane was quiet. It didn't happen often so when it did she tried to enjoy it.

"Did you know on average, one in twenty three people have an irrational fear?"

So, silent time was over.

She knew where he was going with this. He was trying to bring back the subject of fears. Trying to wheedle out what her fears were. Well Ha! She didn't have any.

Let's see him try to create a fear out of thin air for her.

"Oh Really?" She really ought to stop encouraging him.

Happy that he had an audience, he continued.

"Yes, In fact there are approximately 6.3 million Americans that have a specific fear at any one time. Whether it be heights, fear of flying, closed spaces… quite an epidemic." Jane turned his head from the map to fully study her face. "So do you have a fear?"

Smiling, ready for the question Lisbon simply said "Nope"

"No, no you don't." Jane frowned

Ha!

"But you did"

Damn

"Now what was it that Agent Teresa Lisbon feared?"

Resigned to the fact that if she didn't tell him, he would most likely keep poking around until he found what he wanted anyway. And probably bring up some other things she wanted kept hidden. The stubborn, persistent man. Though she had to admit, good qualities to have in this line of work. Plus he was giving her the look. The one where if he did it long enough you would spill everything.

"When I was little, my friends and I used to go down to this secluded lake. It was beautiful. Green, lush grass, crystal clear water with the perfectly positioned tree that you could dive off from. My best friend Sara, decided to jump from the highest branch she could reach. None of us had ever dared to go that high before. But she was brave. Braver than all of us. We all cheered her on from the ground." Lisbon paused, a faraway look in her eyes. It didn't take long before she continued.

"She didn't even scream when she jumped. In fact she was laughing. Made a huge splash. We were all clapping, waiting for her to surface to ask how it felt."

"She never came back up did she?" Jane's voice whispered

"We all thought she was playing a joke on us at first. But time went on and we got worried." Her eyes started to water but she held it back enough. She didn't want to drive them off the road.

"I jumped in around the same place Sara did. Tried to look everywhere for her. I could hear the other girls screaming, some had ran off to get help. I went under one more time and I saw her. Her hair was tangled up in a branch that must of fallen in ages ago. She wasn't moving."

Lisbon took a deep breath to fight back emotions she thought she had gotten over.

"I tried to get her free, but the branches wouldn't let go. I don't know how long it took, but next thing I knew, one of the fathers had jumped in and managed to get her loose. It was too late."

Another breath. "From that day on I didn't go near the water."

"What changed that?" Jane prompted gently. He didn't mean to dredge up such memories but couldn't help himself. Every little bit he learned about her past, let him closer to knowing the real Teresa.

More composed now, she answered. "It was a case a few years back. We found one of the victims in the bay. I was the closest so I had to jump in. I didn't think about it, just did it. She was still alive. She's now a mother of three."

Lisbon smiled and so too did Jane. Some things in life worked out.

That story had taken them the rest of the way to their destination. Luke's Indoor Rock climbing.

Quite a busy place for the size of it. Many posters lined the walls claiming to be the best in the state run by qualified experts.

One of these experts that they were headed to was the manager.

After showing the photo and divulging the names of Mr. and Mrs. Carson, they were pointed in the direction of a Jake Warner. Apparently he was the one listed in the books as the instructor who was meant to be assigned to them on the day of their disappearance.

Jane sized him up as they walked over to him. A man of average height and average build. Someone who looked like they spent a lot of years climbing. A few scars along the arms and legs, no doubt from climbing accidents. His light hair was pulled back into a pony tail of sorts. It reached the top of his shoulders

Jane stopped short and looked around the complex. "I'm going to look around for a bit, I'll meet you back at the car."

"OK, don't get into any trouble now."

"Me? Trouble? Nahhh…" Jane smiled innocently before aiming towards the back wall. Making a show of going to the rest room, then turning at the last minute into the staff locker room by its side.

Lisbon shook her head and continued to her destination.

"Mr Warner. Agent Lisbon CBI." She flashed her badge "I'd like to ask you a few questions"

Jake looked over in surprise. An agent from the CBI wanted to talk to him? But he agreed and walked over with Lisbon to a more secluded area away from prying eyes.

"Mr. Warner, four days ago you had an appointment with a Mr. and Mrs. Carson. 10 am. Did they show?"

"Uhh… y-yes they did." Apparently Mr Warner had a stutter. "I-I met w-w-with them at-t 10. S-s-such a love-ovely couple"

Lisbon managed to find out that the Carson's finished their session and Jake hadn't seen them after that. Mrs. Carson however had given Jake her card to where she worked. He was after a bouquet of flowers to take to the hospital where he visited his mother for the rest of the day.

Lisbon got the name of the hospital just so she could check on his alibi.

She thanked him for his time and headed back to the managers office where she collected a copy of the security tapes, meeting Jane along the way. Apparently he turned up nothing of interest in his side quest.

"Find anything interesting from our Mr. Warner?"

Lisbon relayed the conversation as they headed to the car.

"So Mr. Warner stutters. Did you know that some cases stuttering can become more obvious the more pressure they are under? In fact some people are around others that are inflicted with stuttering and wouldn't even know it."

"Is there anything you don't know about?" Lisbon asked rhetorically but Jane being Jane, answered.

"Carpentry." He looked thoughtful. "Don't know much about carpentry."

Lisbon shook her head but smiled in spite of herself.

Jane liked it when she smiled. It made her look more carefree. He always aimed to get at least one smile a day. Today he was on a roll.

*************************************************************

Not far from the office, Lisbon's cell began to ring.

"Lisbon" she put it on speakerphone to keep her hands free.

"Boss" It was Cho "You'll want to come see this. We've just been sent a package. No return address. We think it's from our guy."

"What's in it?"

"A tape."

*************************************************************


	3. Chapter 2

OK a big post here. This is to last you until the next chapter which will probably take longer.

Any mistakes in this I willingly take blame for as It's nearly 1 in the morning and I'm running off fumes. This is for you Eve215. Get ready to start taking ;)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own them, wish I did. The end.

Oh and don't forget to review. It makes the sleepless nights worth it :D

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"_My name is __Jake Carson." _

_The bottom right corner of the screen read 06 March 11:42am_

"_Do you know why you are here Jake?" A figure entirely dressed in black walked into frame. He wandered around the back of two chairs in which both Jake and Jennifer Carson were tied too._

_Blindfolds covered their eyes. Their heads jerking to any sound the man behind them made._

_Fear written clearly in their expressions._

"_No." Jake's voice shook._

"_How long have you been married Jake?" The monotone voice filtered through the mask._

_Jake swallowed thickly. "Eight months."_

Lisbon and her team were huddled around the TV. Every eye was transfixed to the proceedings. Horribly aware that the two people whose terrified faces filled the screen were now lying on a cold hard slab in the morgue.

_The man in black continued his circle until he stopped and crouched in front of Jennifer. He stroked her cheek as she tried to pull away in protest. "Please." She whispered._

"_What are yo…?"_

"_Do you love her Jake?" The man in black cut off the rest of the Jake's question._

"_Of course I love her." Jake was getting angry._

"_Would you do anything for her?" He grabbed the back of her hair roughly which was rewarded with a shout of surprise._

"_YES! Just leave her alone." Jake's breathing was erratic. "Please."_

"_Would you die for her?" Jennifer started to sob._

_There was no answer. Jake looked over in shock to where he could hear his wife crying._

"_Oh God, please let her go. I'll do anything you want just please…"_

_He was interrupted by Jennifer's scream as the man in black balled his fit and buried it in her stomach._

"_You didn't answer my question. Would you die for her?" His voice raised a level._

_Jake let out a brief sob. Jennifer's hoarse coughing could be heard as she tried to get a lungful of air. "I can get you money. Anything you want. Just please don't do this." His pleas rested on deaf ears._

"_Wrong answer."_

_The screen went black for two seconds._

_When it came back to life the bottom read 06 March 1:07pm_

_That wasn't the only thing that had changed._

_Jennifer's body was slumped forward. Hair covering her face. The slightest movement showed that she was breathing._

_Jake was tipped on the floor still tied to the chair. Blood gushing from his mangled nose. Various cuts and bruises lining any bare skin visible. He was barely conscious._

_The man in black calmly stepped over his body to crouch behind him. He grabbed Jake's head off the ground and whispered into his ear._

_  
"Would you die for her?"_

_Jake tried to open his eyes all the way but failed. Too weak to do anything else, his answer barely audible "Yes."_

_The man in black dropped his head and walked out of frame._

_  
The screen turned black._

"Oh God." Van Pelt's face was hidden behind her hands. Face pale.

Rigsby slammed his fist on the table. He only wished he could vent his anger on the man in black. He hated knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. It already did.

Lisbon, face sombre, went to turn the TV off. She didn't want it on any longer than necessary.

"Wait." Jane was pointing at the screen and everyone looked back up at it.

A new image had reappeared. This one was in the back of a van. And in it were the forms of two unconscious people. A man and a woman. Their identities unknown to the CBI Agents.

What looked like two fresh victims.

"Oh no." Lisbon's eyes were wide.

_The time at the bottom of the screen read 10 March 9:17am_

_A disembodied voice came through the speakers._

"_Look what else you couldn't stop." Laughter erupted._

_The man started to wake up. Grogginess covered his features._

"_Wha…?" He saw the unconscious body next to him. It made him more alert. He looked all around him as well as he could cramped in the back of the van. His face stopped when it spotted the video camera.__ He looked towards his captor then back at the screen. Desperation leaking out of every pore. "PLEASE HELP U..." His screams were cut off along with the video._

It was Lisbon who moved first. Switching back into boss mode. Shoulders squared, head high, 'don't mess with me' look in place. It made her feel in control. And control was something that was slipping away with this case. She couldn't let that happen. Further lives depended on it.

"Rigsby, I want you to run down a copy of that tape to the analysts. See if they can get anything from it. Background audio, something that might give a clue to the location."

Rigsby nodded and headed over to the recorder to start making a copy. This run through, he would do with the screen off. One performance was more than enough for him.

"Van Pelt, how did it go with the surveillance tapes?"

Grace snapped out of her trance at the screen. Glad for a distraction to get the distraught faces out of her head. "Ah, luckily for us, they had just installed some new security cameras down at the piers due to some outbreaks of violence. I noticed one guy sitting on a bench on the pier above where the bodies were found."

"Sitting on a bench?" Lisbon didn't follow how that was important

"Well he had been sitting there for three hours. At the time where we see the couple that found the bodies come out from under the pier, he walks off."

"OK that's a bit weird. Did we get a face?"

"Yes, I'm about to blow it up and run it through the facial recognition software. If we're lucky, he has a record."

"Good work. Cho I want you and Rigsby to go through these tapes." She held up the tapes from the hospital and rock climbing centre. "Check them to see if Mr. and Mrs. Carson left the centre safely and see if anyone was following them."

Lisbon went over to put one of the centres tapes on after Rigsby had finished. She fast forwarded until she found what she was looking for.

"This is Jake Warner." She pointed to the screen where Jake Warner was instructing some people the safety basics of harnesses. "I want you to go through the hospital tapes to confirm he was there all day after he left the centre. He was the last person known to see the Carson's alive."

"On it boss" Cho took Lisbon's position in front of the screen and settled in.

"I'm going to head over to the LAPD precinct. We're going to need extra bodies on this. I'll get them to set up a patrol around the piers. Also see if we can find any more potential witnesses."

"What do you want me to do?" Jane awaited the answer, looking like the teachers pet asking for extra homework.

"Ah…" What could he do? It was pretty much covered for the moment. "Why don't you help Van Pelt?" And with that, she turned on her heels and left.

Van Pelt had looked up when she heard her name and saw Jane looking at her with a grin. That couldn't be good.

Her eyes followed him as he walked over to the desk across from her, grabbed its chair and re located it directly next to her. There was another grin flashed her way. "Ooh nearly forgot. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, I'm good thanks"

Jane rushed out of the office and into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a fresh cup. He sat down, placed the cup neatly to the side and proceeded to stretch his fingers.

He then leant in close to her to get a good view of the computer screen and pulled the keyboard over.

"So..." Jane started as he pressed a few random keys which in turn made the computer beep at him. "…how does this program work?"

Grace could only stare at him, mouth slightly ajar.

****************

Time had gone at a snails pace. No new leads had surfaced and the team was getting restless.

Cho and Rigsby where able to confirm that Mr Warner did indeed visit the hospital and he was there for the whole day. Arriving not too long after leaving his work with a bouquet of flowers and leaving at the end of visiting hours.

Nothing else looked out of place when the Carson's were at the rock climbing facility either. No one following them, no one watching. Van Pelt was still awaiting the facial recognition software to get a hit, if at all she was going to get one.

At least some of her time was passed in showing Jane some tips on the computer. He was a quick learner, not that she found herself surprised.

She didn't expect him to start using computers from now on though. She figured he didn't like the anonymity of it all. People could hide who they were behind a computer screen. And Jane wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying or not. Something he didn't like. He needed to see, to hear, to feel.

Van Pelt was brought out of her thoughts when her phone started to ring.

Picking it up on the second ring, she found it was Lisbon on the other end. She relayed what little they had found out.

"Van Pelt, I want all of you to go home. We need you fresh in the morning. No point sitting around when there is nothing we can do at the moment. We've got a reasonable size force scouring the area for any suspicious activity. We might get lucky."

"What about you boss?" Concern evident in her voice. She never though that woman got enough sleep. Pushed herself too hard.

"I won't be too far off it either. Just finishing off some work with Detective Thomas here. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night" With that she hung up.

As soon as the guys heard they could go, they were out of their chairs like rockets. Glad for something to do, even if it was just to go home. They couldn't sit around any longer and just do nothing. Even though they knew they would never get any sleep. Not until they put this guy away.

They only hoped that they could do something soon to catch this guy before the body count rose.

****************

It was five thirty am, Friday morning and Kimball Cho was the first to arrive to the scene. The others not too far behind him. He had been awoken by a call from Lisbon telling him to turn the news on and then get down to the LAPD precinct as quickly as he could. It had been two days of dead ends. Frustrating them all to no end. But finally they had something. Although it wasn't in the form that they hoped.

They found the bodies.

And apparently so did the reporters. Somehow they had gotten wind of this case and had photos of both couples, plastering them on every TV that was tuned in.

They even dubbed the mysterious Bay area killer the 'Marriage Counsellor'.

Cho had scoffed at the TV.

What kind of a name was that for a serial killer? Seriously?

Just because two sets of victims were married?

Two, a pattern did not make.

But that was reporters for you. Anything that sounds good enough to sell papers.

Cho secretly hoped that if, God forbid, there were to be more victims, that they weren't couples.

What would they call the "Marriage Counsellor" then?

"The guy formally known as the marriage counsellor"?

But those thoughts only lasted a few seconds. It was too morbid. He didn't mean to belittle the victims in any way. He just wanted to catch the SOB. This case was getting to him. It was getting to all of them. Serial Killers were not fun to deal with.

"Right under our noses" Cho turned and saw Lieutenant Thomas looking around the scene. He was fuming. "I want this guy now!"

Cho could only imagine what Lieutenant Thomas was feeling. If he had bodies dumped at his doorstep, he would be peeved too.

But it wasn't long before his attention was drawn back to the victims. Back to the words carved into their heads. Taunting them.

'Better luck next time'

****************

They were back in the CBI building.

All of them were on the phone at one point or another for most of the day. Thanks to the news report, family members were ringing in from all over to find out if it was true. That was the hard part. How do you tell a person that someone dear to them is gone yet try to stay emotionally detached as to keep your mind on the case?

Cho tried to give off the impression that it didn't affect him. But it did. It was in his eyes as he said those words. Those words that started with the simple 'I'm sorry' and ended in tears. He tried to palm off talking to the families. Saying he wasn't good with people crying. In actual fact it was the grief and despair that got to him. Ate away at his conscious. But it helped to drive him on to catch the bastard that caused it all in the first place.

It was the same with this case. As if he didn't have enough motive already with four dead bodies already in play. Four distraught families needing justice.

"Eureka!"

Van Pelt's call broke him out of his thoughts.

"I finally got a hit on our face." She clicked some buttons to bring up the files on the screen as the rest of the team surrounded her. Eagerly awaiting for something to break the case.

"His name is James Grove. Been in and out of prison since the age of 18. Some petty thefts, damage to property, then he went bigger. About one year after his father's suicide he was charged with two counts of manslaughter. Served for eight years and was only just released two months ago. He lives in Downtown LA."

She looked up at Lisbon.

"Should we bring him in?"

"No not yet. If he is our guy, I don't want him knowing we're onto him. He may run then we've got nothing."

"Surveillance boss?"

"Exactly," she looked to Rigsby "I want you and Cho shadowing him. Get anything you can. Van Pelt, see if you can find anything on the fathers suicide. If this is our guy, I want to know what set him off. I'm going to talk to Lieutenant Thomas, relay what we found and see what else we can get."

With that she blew out of the office and everyone set to their business. Van Pelt went back to her computer screen, Cho went to get the car keys and Rigsby went to pack a little afternoon snack for the stake out.

Jane was left standing where they all had been not two minutes ago.

"I'll just be over there." He pointed back at his trusty couch, talking to thin air. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

****************

It was well after six pm when Jane started to doze off. He was brought back to full consciousness when he heard a squeaking of a chair and felt a pair of eyes on him.

It wasn't Cho or Rigsby, they had the wonderful privilege of staking out James Grove. Lisbon was over at the LAPD precinct so that left Van Pelt.

Interested in what she could be waiting for he cracked one eye open and looked back at her.

Grace jumped back slightly, startled that she had been caught.

"Uh… would you like a cup of tea?" Grace cleared her throat, hoping that her voice didn't sound higher than usual.

Now with both of his eyes open, Jane just smiled. And stared.

Searching Grace's face for any hint of what she was really thinking.

It definitely wasn't anything to do with tea.

She seemed somewhat concerned, worried even. It wasn't to do with the case, it was directed at him.

Grace shifted in her seat, pinned by Jane's piercing blue eyes. She knew he was analysing her. That was what he always did. She only wished he would at least try to hide what he was so obviously doing. Doesn't he respect other people's privacy?

But then again it wouldn't be Jane otherwise.

"It's getting late. We should probably start to head out. What do you say I walk a lovely lady to her car?" Jane swung himself out of the couch and stood up without missing a beat. He walked over to Grace's desk and leant over, offering his hand.

Taken aback, Grace switched to auto pilot and took his hand and stood up.

"Uh…sure." She switched off her computer and grabbed her bag. She had printed out all she could find about Mr. Groves suicide and had left it on Lisbon's desk an hour ago so she had been ready to leave for a while now but got caught up in her thoughts about Jane. She knew she should just come out with it.

Knowing Jane, he could read her mind anyway.

"Why do you always stay back late?"

Jane looked over at Grace. Ah. There it is.

"Why to offer my exemplary services of course" Jane took a small bow.

Not to be deterred she pushed on.

"No, that's not it. Even after a case is solved you still stay back. You always look like you're about to settle in for the night on that couch"

"It's a comfy couch" Jane raised his eyebrows as if to prove the statement "I might even let you try it out for size one time. But, only if you're good and don't tell Rigsby. He would just push the cushions out of shape." He led them through the foyer and out the front doors.

"What has…?" Grace was interrupted by Jane's phone going off.

"Excuse me" He pulled out his phone and hit answer.

Realising she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him, she left him in privacy to take his call and headed towards her car.

What was she thinking trying to get Jane to open up and tell her the truth? He never did like to talk about himself. Although if she admitted it to herself, neither did she.

She was about to pull out of the parking lot when Jane, off the phone, stood in front of her car with his hands up.

"Wait"

She braked immediately, which allowed Jane to walk to the passenger side and get in.

"I just got off the phone with Lisbon. How would you like to go to a club?"

****************


	4. Chapter 3

_I can't believe I got another chapter out so quick. AND it is longer than I thought it would be. So that's a bonus._

_Thank you to all who reviewed so far. It means a great deal and helps give me inspiration._

_Virtual cookies to all of you._

_I hope you like this chapter. It gets a bit darker after this. So be warned._

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own them. Darn.

* * *

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It had been over two hours since they first pulled up in front of James Grove's home.

It was just a modest single story house. Nothing too flashy. A few trees planted along the driveway, neatly trimmed grass and a silver Volvo sitting out front.

The night was dragging on. Nothing of interest was happening. The only excitement they got was Grove walking from the lounge room into the kitchen to grab what they assumed was a beer.

Rigsby let out a big sigh, clearly bored. The _idea_ of stakeouts was always intriguing. Get to follow someone stealthily, watch their every move while you got to eat classic stakeout food which usually consisted of pizza or Chinese. Well the food had run out and Grove wasn't going anywhere. This definitely wasn't like the movies.

Rigsby looked down at his arm when he felt a slight tickling sensation. What he saw was a lone spider making its way to his shoulder.

One quick flick sent it on a trip into the front window and it landed on the dashboard, legs in the air.

Deciding the spider was the most interesting thing at that point, Rigsby leant in for a closer look. Studying it.

Cho looked up from his latest crime novel when he noticed the movement. What he saw was Rigsby's face about twelve inches away from some black fluff. Make that black fluff with legs.

He watched as Rigsby's head tilted to the side, a questioning look on his face.

Cho turned back to his book. "You good?"

"Yeah just thinking." Rigsby reached over and gave the spider a quick nudge and pulled back his hand. "Hey, do you think spiders can get knocked unconscious?"

That made Cho look back up. "Unconscious?" His voice as level as ever.

"Yeah you know, it gets a whack on the head and out it goes."

Cho blinked and continued to stare.

"Well other animals can get knocked out, why not spiders?" Rigsby stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How do you know that? Do you go around punching them all in the head too?"

"No!" Rigsby sounded affronted. "My old dog got knocked out once. I was calling out for him and he came running, but he hit the glass door. Went out like a light."

"You didn't open it did you?"

"It was very clean. It looked open." Rigsby was getting defensive. He turned his attention back to the spider in question.

Cho decided to take a closer look. "It's dead."

He then opened up to the last page he was on and continued to read.

Rigsby leant forward again. "How can you tell?"

"It's got that dead look."

"Dead look?"

"Yeah, dead look. It's all crunched up."

Rigsby leant closer still, examining it. "Yeah you're right. It does have a dead look."

"But it could be just pretending, waiting for you to get closer until it pounces."

Rigsby's head pulled back in a flash, eyes watching for any movement.

"But I think it's just dead." Cho turned the page.

****************************

Grace started to pull out of the CBI car park as Jane was relaying the phone conversation he had with Lisbon.

"They found out where Mr. Grove works. 'The Hot Zone' nightclub. Lisbon wants us to go in and see what we can find. But no badges. She said it might tip off anyone close to him."

Grace nodded in assent. "How is she going working with the Lieutenant?"

"Not too friendly from how I take it. Apparently they had an argument over who gets to go tonight. She pulled rank. We won." Jane gave Grace a wide grin as if they had just won the lottery. "You know I can just imagine how Lisbon would have been as a toddler in the playground. Ordering everyone around as to who gets the swings first." Jane smiled fondly.

Grace gave out a short laugh. Yep that sounded like their boss.

Jane turned to look at Grace. "You were probably the type of kid that sat alone in the corner watching it all happen."

Grace frowned. Wait. How did it get onto her? OK subject change.

"We're here." Well that was handy. She pulled up into the car park across the street, surprised to get a spot seeing as it was Friday night. Both got out and looked towards the club. It wasn't the most popular in town but it still drew in crowds. Flashing lights and loud thumping music. It wasn't Grace's scene. And she was pretty sure it wasn't Jane's either. Not that she really knew what Jane's scene was, but she was pretty sure it wasn't this.

"It's chilly out tonight." Jane started to rub his hands together. Unusual weather for Summer.

Grace started to head over to the club.

"Wait." She turned back to look at Jane to see what he wanted. He was staring at her clothes. Unconsciously she started to fidget from the gaze.

"What is it?"

"Our appearance."

"What about it?"

"We aren't exactly club worthy. We _are_ supposed to be undercover." His right side of his lips tilted upwards.

"We're not undercover. We just… we're just going to look around." She looked down at her own clothes then over to Jane's. "But you're right. Take off your jacket."

Jane's eyebrows shot upwards, a smirk forming on his face. He didn't say anything but he complied. Shrugging off the jacket and putting it in the car. He was left with his black slack pants, white collared shirt and a black vest.

Van Pelt was looking him over with a thoughtful gaze. "Roll up your sleeves and unbutton the vest."

Jane's eyes twinkled mischievously as he attempted the buttons. "You'll have to help me with the buttons. My fingers are too cold."

Grace sighed not at all surprised. "Come here then."

As he got close enough, she leant in close to unbutton his vest. Jane held his hands behind his back as if he was casually observing a passer by.

"Mmm… is that a new shampoo you're using? Fruity."

Grace's face turned a shade of red and she fumbled on the last button. "Did you just sniff my hair?"

"Kind of hard not to seeing as you are so close. But interesting. Undressing a man doesn't bother you in the least but as soon as I comment on your choice of hair products you get all flustered." Jane started to roll up his sleeves.

"Hush. I wasn't... undressing you" Grace turned to the car to put her work jacket inside. It also gave her a chance to regain her composure.

"Hmm..."

Grace turned back to where Jane was and nearly bumped into him. He had moved closer and was looking her over. "It's your turn."

She was wearing the white button up work top with a red singlet on underneath and a pair of black pants. That was all fine. But her hair was in that bun that Jane found too formal.

Before Grace could protest, he reached around the back of her head, fiddled a bit then smiled as her hair was released and tumbled over her shoulders. He ran his fingers through it like a hair dresser. Trying to get it to sit the right way.

Grace slapped his hand away. "Are you about done?"

Jane continued to look at her hair. "You don't happen to have any gel in your car do you?"

Grace let out and exasperated sigh and started to walk towards the club. "Come on."

She had left her main weapon in the car but made sure her side arm was still securely strapped to her ankle. No sense in going in completely unarmed.

As she tucked her badge in her front pocket out of sight, Jane spoke up. "We are going to need some sort of cover." They were lined up to get in the front door. It was nearly their turn to get in.

Grace looked at him suspiciously but agreed. "OK, but this time I pick the cover."

"As you wish." He held his arm out in front of him to let Grace go first through the door. The blaring music drowned out anything Grace had said back to him but he nodded anyway. Smile set firmly in place.

****************************

Cho and Rigsby were laughing loudly as Rigsby finished his story. James Grove still hadn't moved from the couch.

"But she wouldn't look at me for a week after it." Rigsby shook his head laughing. "Ahh… so, where was your first time?" He looked to Cho expectantly.

Cho stopped to think back. It had been quite a while ago.

"Oh yeah. The back of my car."

"The back of your car? How did you manage that?"

"Well I was driving along and stopped at a red light. The next thing I know he got in the back of the car." Cho shook his head in recollection.

"He was clearly on drugs so I cuffed him. He thought I was a taxi service."

Rigsby started laughing "Cho the taxi driver. Oh man."

"Hey at least I didn't knock my boss into a fountain while cuffing the guy." Cho challenged back. "I hope Lisbon knows to stay away from you when your cuffs are out."

Both men gained back their composure as they resumed staring at the house.

Rigsby shifted in his seat trying to find a comfier position.

"I bet Grace and Jane are all comfy at home." He sighed thinking about a cozy bed to stretch out in. He wouldn't mind it if Grace was in that bed too. He smiled to himself.

"Don't do that while I'm here man." Cho looked over at him

"Do what?"

"You know what. That goofy grin gives you away."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He did. And Cho caught him every time. He shifted in his seat again and tried to aim his thoughts back over to the case.

****************************

Jane and Grace had been at the club for twenty minutes now. Still nursing the same drinks- both virgin - which they had gotten earlier. They had nothing but sore feet and a blaring headache from the music. Trying to act casual, they were questioning those who looked like regulars about James Grove. No one claimed to know him.

Ready to give up, that was when Jane spotted a large burly man come out the back with a ratty old book. He laid it on the counter and called out for Matt to sign his worksheet and then he left. Bingo.

"Over there." Jane pointed at the book.

"What is it?"

"I think we have come upon their work logs. We can check to see if our Jimmy boy was working on the times of the disappearances."

Without looking obvious, they sauntered over to the back counter where the book lay. It was a lot quieter in this section. They had placed their drinks down while Jane leaned over the counter and making sure no one was looking, he turned the book to face him with his index finger.

Grace was on the lookout while trying to cover him from view.

Jane managed to find the corresponding dates and saw that James Grove was rostered on those days. But he couldn't see anywhere to prove if he actually came in.

He barely managed to close the book in defeat when Grace hissed his name in warning.

The big burly guy from before was making his way back to the book.

Jane moved his hand to Grace's waist and pushed her quickly against the wall, turning her to face him. Left hand placed next to her head to stop her from moving as the other snaked its way up to the middle of her back to pull her flush against him. She exhaled loudly. Cheeks tingeing red.

"Uh, Jane? Our cover…." she managed to choke out. "We're supposed to be..."

He heard the guy get closer.

Jane retracted his hand from her back and placed a finger against her full, red lips.

"Grace…" He leaned in and whispered into her ear, hot breath brushing her neck. "…hush."

Then with a slight tilt of his head he captured her lips. Soft and gentle at first.

It had been quite some time since he had put this into practice. He wondered if he still had it.

She forgot how to breathe. It had been a while since someone kissed her like that. A long while. And oh how good it felt. Wait. This wasn't right. This was Jane. Patrick Jane.

Her lips were tingling, body melting and any further coherent thoughts she had flew out the window as Jane increased the tempo. Felt his tongue tracing along her lower lip, begging for entrance as his free hand found its way down to the small of her back, slipping under her shirt. Pulling her closer still. The move shifted Jane's thigh between her own.

A slight moan, that was more felt than heard, alerted Jane to the fact that yes, he still had it.

As he opened his eyes, lips still locked, he could see from his peripherals that the big guy had taken the book and gone away. Time to get back to business.

Jane pulled away and Grace's face followed slightly, a small whimper escaping.

"What were you saying before?" Jane asked and if he admitted it to himself he would say he was slightly out of breath.

"Wha…" Grace's reply wasn't as composed. Eyes hooded, lips slightly apart with her cheeks now matching the colour of her hair.

Oh boy, did he still have it.

Jane's hand that was still unconsciously under her shirt was rubbing small circles. How was a girl supposed to concentrate with that?

As if Jane had read her mind, and who was she kidding, he probably did, he removed his hand from her back. Leaving a cold chill in its wake. OK, now what was the question again? Oh right.

"Jane I was about to say our cover… we were meant to be brother and sister" she hissed out.

"Oh" He didn't look in the slightest bit sorry that he had taken it upon himself to initiate his own cover.

"Well then, you shouldn't have kissed me." His mega watt grin lit up his face. Eyes sparkling.

"I didn't… kiss… you did." Why was it that responses always sounded more eloquent in your head?

She tried to be angry but it was hard. Not with that face smiling back at you. Especially when he was that close.

And that was when Grace had noticed her hand was still entangled in Jane's hair. That curly Adonis-like mass. The curls really were as soft as they looked.

Grace snapped back to reality, removed her hand and stood up straight. Sometime during their exchange she had ended up halfway down the wall.

Boy she needed to start dating again.

OK now to focus back on to what they were here for. Stop looking at Jane. He most likely won't pounce again. Not that she would completely hate it. What normal girl didn't think about Jane that way even once? She was only human.

Both of them had straightened themselves somewhat before starting their path to the exit. Downing the rest of the drinks in one gulp. No sense in staying any longer since there was nothing else to find here.

Masses of people blocked their way to the front exit. The back exit was closer.

"Jane?" Jane looked over at Grace. Her voice hadn't sounded right. In fact he wouldn't have even heard her speak if he wasn't so close. "I don't feel so good."

She didn't look to hot either. Her face was pale and forehead was sweaty. She needed some fresh air. He boiled it down to the cramped spaces and muggy air.

Worried about her, he put his arm around her shoulders and led the way to the back exit. Being careful not to go too quickly.

Once outside blessed fresh air greeted their faces. He leaned Grace against the wall.

"OK lean down and breathe deep for me." She complied. But not too long after that her eyes started to roll to the back of her head and she started to fall.

"Grace!" Jane tried to catch her and sit her down. She was limp in his arms. Panicking, the only thing he could think of was to carry her out of there and head towards the car.

He got two steps when he stumbled. His vision started to blur and he felt the world tilt. Putting Grace down as to not drop her, he closed his eyes and willed whatever it was to go away.

No such luck.

"Hey!" He tried to call out for anyone close by.

Relief washed over him as he saw a figure come out from the shadows.

"Can you please help me? I have to get my friend to the hospital." If Jane had been one hundred percent, he would have noticed the odd behavior of the stranger sooner.

But when he looked back up from Grace's prone form, the last thing he saw was a fist coming straight at his face. Then darkness.

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	5. Chapter 4

_Finally I got the next chapter up. Sorry for making you all wait._

_A big thank you to all who are still reading and for the reviews._

_Any mistakes, I blame Phil the plot bunny._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Funnily enough I STILL don't own them._

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Forty five minutes.

That's how long Lisbon had been sitting at her desk, staring out of the window. Not that she really was looking at anything in particular. Just sitting deep in thought.

It was still early Saturday morning. She wasn't even supposed to be here.

In fact she hadn't even been home yet. As she left the LAPD precinct she let her auto pilot take over and here she was. Back in her office. Staring out of the window.

Something was bugging her, more than usual with a case like this. Something didn't feel right.

But she just couldn't put her finger on it. Her lack of sleep wasn't helping any.

Neither was the pounding headache. Of course she blamed Minelli for that part.

Over an hour ago Minelli came storming into her office as soon as he learned she was here.

Apparently Lieutenant 'Jackass' had been complaining about her diplomacy skills.

She thought she was being pretty damn diplomatic. Sure she was taking the lead on all investigations including telling Thomas's people where to go, but she was sharing information.

She let him look at all the findings. She even let him suggest some ideas.

But there was no way she was going to send anyone other than her own people to James Grove's workplace.

She couldn't risk any mess ups on a case like this. She didn't like the unknown. And she didn't know the Lieutenant's men. Not like she knew her own team. Like she knew Jane.

And there was that uneasy feeling again.

It had been strange that Van Pelt hadn't phoned in to report their findings. Of course it was late at night that they went.

Lisbon rose from her chair and started to pace.

Thousands of possible scenarios ran through her head and because of her profession, not all of them were nice.

No. She was just being silly. Van Pelt probably thought it was too late to disturb her and Jane, well, she wouldn't be surprised if he made a few friends in the club and was occupied showering them with his charm and wit.

She also hadn't heard from Cho, and Rigsby but that was normal for a surveillance op. Usually there was only a call when there was suspicious activity.

Lisbon glanced at her watch. They would have been reprieved hours ago and were probably sleeping it off.

It was odd standing in the empty bullpen. Usually being alone was a good thing. Time to herself.

Today it felt wrong.

Pulling her head out of her hands she noticed where she was. Unconsciously she had walked over and sat in Jane's couch.

She had to laugh. Jane's couch. As if the man brought it with him.

But it gave her a small amount of comfort. If she breathed deep enough she could swear it smelled like him too.

Mind back on the case.

Lisbon rose out of the couch and walked the few steps to the window. She placed her head against the cool glass and closed her eyes. That felt soothing on her headache.

A blaring horn brought her attention outside. Eyes wide open and alert.

Just some idiots cutting each other off.

But that was when she saw it.

Jane's car.

Why was Jane's car still here? Especially when the man himself was no where to be seen.

The uneasy feeling came back full force.

**************************

Pain. That was all he could feel. That was all he could really think of at that moment. His thoughts were disarrayed. What was going on? Why did he feel kind of numb? And why did his mouth taste like socks?

_Grace stumbled grabbing on to him_

What was that? His eyes were tightly clenched as if it would stop the thought from floating away.

_Jane took her by the waist and leads her outside_

Oh no. It was coming back to him. Fragmented pieces flashing through his brain.

_Jane seeing a fist coming straight for him._

In an unconscious action, Jane went to feel the side of his face where the fist connected.

Clang!

Make that a negative on arm movement. Still with his eyes closed, he decided to take a mental checklist of himself.

'OK both arms tied above head. Some sort of chain holding them in place.' He wiggled his fingers.

'Yup, they still work. Body feels kind of numb, may be from sitting too long. Now legs. Wait. I can't feel my legs!'

"Oh crap"

Not realising he said it aloud; he opened his eyes when he heard a moan.

Waiting for his eyes to adjust, he looked to where he thought the sound came from. He saw a red blur. Grace.

After admonishing himself for forgetting about Grace, he focused all his attention on her. His legs now the furthest thing from his mind.

One quick glance over told him she was in the same predicament he was. He couldn't see any blood. That was a good sign. Now to get her alert.

"Grace? Grace honey, open your eyes." There was a slight roll of her head and another moan. A few seconds later her face clenched in a frown. It must have been from the same headache he was feeling. What were they drugged with?

"That's it, open your eyes and look at me." Her eyes were small slits, waiting to adjust to the light.

It wasn't overly bright in there. Just one lone florescent light that looked on its last legs.

The occasional flicker showing its fight against the inevitable.

"Jane?" Her voice sounded confused.

"It's alright Grace. Do you remember what happened?" His voice was as soothing as he could make it. "At the club?"

"The club… I felt sick…we went out.." Realising her restriction as she went to rub the grogginess from her face, it hit her. "Oh God, Jane, it's him isn't it?"

Jane could only nod his head. His face somber. This was serious. The couple killing maniac who had a high distaste for cops had them chained up, getting ready to do who knows what unspeakable things to them. That's when it dawned on him.

"Grace?" She looked up from evaluating her legs. "Did you have your badge and gun on you?"

He couldn't help the worried tone that slipped out. Sure, they were in for some trouble, but if he knew Grace was a cop… No. Don't go there. Assess the situation and find out the facts. Right.

"Oh no." Grace caught on immediately. She looked down to her front pocket where she had hidden it. A slight bulge told her it was still there. That was odd. Now if she could only shift her legs in such a way to check on her backup gun. The numbness was making it difficult but the shackles around her ankles was making it near impossible.

After a lot of squirming she could see enough of the holster. Enough to tell that it was empty.

She closed her eyes.

"Grace?"

"My badge is still in my pocket." She tried to keep her voice low in case they could be over heard.

"My gun is gone. He must have found it." She was silently berating herself. It was bad enough that the killer had them. She didn't need to add to his arsenal. Why didn't she leave it in the car?

Of course her training was drilled into her. Never go into a potentially hostile place without back up of some kind. Not that it did them any good.

"It's ok. We can work around that." Jane saw the defeated look on her face and knew what she was thinking. "We just got to make sure they don't find that badge." Although he had no idea how they would accomplish that.

Jane started to shift around to test the bindings. Nope, they were secure. But the good news was that he felt his legs start to tingle. It must have been the drug that made them feel numb and now it was wearing off. Shame about the shackles on his ankles.

The room that they were in was only small. Thick concreted walls, a large steel door and no window. Probably underground. There was no furniture to speak of. Just them, their chains and their thoughts.

"Van Pelt?"

"Yeah"

"Does your mouth taste like socks?"

**************************

Lisbon was back to pacing in the office.

She had called and left messages on the entire team's phones telling them to get into work. Now she was waiting.

Hoping that somehow with them all here she could ease the worry somewhat. Maybe even find a break in the case if they were lucky.

But her mind was still on Jane.

Jane and his seemingly abandoned car.

What had that man gotten himself into now?

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	6. Chapter 5

_**A/N**__: OK first off I have to apologise profusely for being so late in posting this chapter._

_I am truly sorry._

_As you can see I have shares in the Procrastinators Anonymous Foundation._

_But I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all who have stuck with it and all the awesome reviews I have been getting. You people are legend –wait for it -dary._

_  
__**DISCLAIMER**__: If I owned them there would never be breaks between seasons._

_Anywho… onto the story_

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"Do you want me to go and check their places boss?"

Rigsby had given up his post at the window and was ready to walk out the door, anticipating the answer.

It had been an hour since Rigsby and Cho had met up with Lisbon at their office and still no sign of Jane or Van Pelt. To say he was worried was an understatement.

He couldn't remember the last time Grace had come in late to work, never mind ignoring calls by the boss to come in after hours. She had a dedication that he admired. Well that was one of many things that he admired.

Before anyone could say anything further, Craig Fields their clerk, walked in with a package.

"I've got a delivery for Agent Lisbon." He held up the large brown package for everyone to see.

"Yeah thanks Craig." Craig handed it to her then shot out of the office. He never liked to stick around when he delivered anything larger than an envelope. Good things usually never came from them.

Cho stepped forward and studied the item in Lisbon's hands as she stood there stock still.

"Boss, that looks like..."

"I know." The bad feeling she had suddenly multiplied ten fold. In her hand was another package that looked exactly like the first one they received. Same size, same shape and same writing. But this time it was addressed specifically to her.

"Why does it have your name on it?" Rigsby walked back from the doorway.

"I'm not sure I…"

"The news report." Cho interjected.

"What?"

"The news report. When they were reporting this case, they named you as the lead investigator."

"Son of a …" Lisbon usually tried to ignore the news reports when she was working a case. They just made her angry at all the liberties they took with their poetic license. Now she had another reason to dislike them. Publicly naming her without permission.

"Rigsby." She gave the TV a pointed look and he understood. He went over to get it ready as she opened the package. Not at all surprised to see a black tape without a label.

What she _was_ surprised to see was a loose note also inside.

_Special Agent Teresa Lisbon,_

_Nice to finally put a name to the so called investigator._

_Can I just say that you are doing a spectacular job at achieving nothing._

_I do hope you like the presents I left._

_I tried to keep them fresh for you._

_Just know that they are all on your shoulders._

_Every. Last. One._

Lisbon slammed the note down and grinded her teeth as she shoved the tape towards Rigsby.

She wanted to take this guy down hard. He was making it personal.

As Rigsby hit play and stood back, they were greeted with the same images as before. Except this time it was the second couple that they found behind the LAPD building. Mr. and Mrs. Masters.

There was a considerable increase in the amount of violence inflicted this time. The man in black took less time asking questions and took more joy in the pain.

They all flinched when they heard the tell tale snap of a bone when Mr. Masters was rewarded with a hard punch to the ribs for talking out of place. Both were barely conscious by the time the camera feed stopped. Bruises marred their faces, blood dribbled down from the various cuts. Then like last time, the video went to black.

Everyone held their breath during the long pause in video. They were pretty confident that they would see a new set of victims but were holding out hope that none had been caught yet.

Time seemed to slow and they allowed themselves to think that this time might be different as still no one had showed up on the screen. Rigsby looked to Lisbon for confirmation to turn the tape off and that's when he saw the look.

That one looked that shook him to the core. The plain shock on her face was more of a response than he was expecting for finding two more random victims displayed. Something was wrong and he wasn't sure if he wanted to turn and see for himself.

Knowing he had to, he turned as slowly as he could. Eyes passing Cho's stiffened form and finally resting on the screen. What he saw made him want to sink to the floor and crawl under a table. He wasn't sure what was keeping him up anymore. No, this couldn't be happening. Not his Grace. His sweet innocent Grace. And Jane… Oh God.

They were both slumped in the back of a darkened van. Both unconscious. He wished that the lighting was darker so he wouldn't have to see it at all. But he could recognize that mass of red hair anywhere.

The screen went blank once more and he closed his eyes. Wishing that somehow Grace and Jane would pop out from behind the TV and shout 'Surprise'.

No such luck.

He set his face to stone and stretched to his full height as he turned back to the rest of the team. Waiting for a command from his boss to do something. Anything.

Anything that would set him into action. Something to take his mind off the fact that he wanted to hit someone. Anyone.

It took Lisbon a few more seconds before her face became a mask and she went into business mode, barely hiding the pain in her eyes.

"I'm going to call the surveillance off James Grove. We need everyone we can get. Cho, Rigsby, I want you both down at that club they were at last night. I want security tapes and I want you questioning anything that moves both inside and outside." They solemnly nodded. "I'm going to get Lieutenant Thomas and his team combing over the last dump site again. I'll get these down to forensics." She held up the tape, the envelope and the letter.

"Should we tell Minelli?" Rigsby's voice was quiet.

"No." They both looked at her in confusion. "At least not yet. I don't want to risk being pulled off this case because of personal interest. These are our people, our colleagues… our friends. We will get them back" Cho's jaw tightened in response. "Let's go people."

With that they all filed out. Determination set in their features.

*****************

None of them knew how much time had really passed since they woke up in their current state. Jane had guessed maybe a few hours or so. Seeing as there were no windows, they couldn't judge by the sun.

To take their minds of the gravity of the situation, Grace was calculating how long before their team would show up and get them out of this mess. Jane took it a step further and decided to make a bet out of it.

They were discussing the final details of who would get what when they won when they heard the door being unlocked.

In walked the man in black. He closed the door behind him with a soft click and turned to face them. An air of calmness surrounded him.

Taking the time he cocked his head to the side and started to scrutinize them slowly. Never moving from his position near the door.

First giving Jane the once over then moving his eyes to Grace. Seemingly satisfied, he placed his hands behind his back then started to slowly pace towards them.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about us." Jane spoke up for the first time since he entered. He had seen that Grace was about to say something but motioned for her to stay silent for now. "I don't suppose you would like to fill us in?"

No answer, just the continuous, slow pacing.

Jane looked him up and down. He couldn't see any skin visible other than his eyes and mouth. Obviously not trusting them with his identity meaning that he was sticking to the M.O and putting them on tape at a later time. Couldn't risk them slipping any details to the police.

"What about getting us some chairs? You know a nicely placed couch could do wonders for this place."

Nothing.

OK, different tactic.

"Why are you going after couples?" When Jane was answered with a look his way, he kept going. "We saw it on the news. Two couples had been murdered. That was you wasn't it?"

Just the echoing footsteps responded.

"Did you lose someone close to you?" Jane could have sworn the pacing stopped for a fraction but wasn't sure if it was his imagination. He was going slightly stir crazy in that room. Not being able to move, his lower half starting to get numb form his position on the floor. And up until now, the lack of contact from his captor had him second guessing everything. He had nothing to read from. Not that his contact right now was going any better.

As Jane was about to ask another question, he noticed the man reach into his pocket and pull out something shiny. He couldn't quite see it as it was to the opposite side of him but he heard a small gasp from Grace and new it wasn't anything pleasant. As he finished pacing to the end of the room and turned back the way, that was when he saw it. Grace's gun.

He was tapping it lightly against his leg with every step he took. Never looking at either of them but forward, his head bowed. The light slapping sound it made against the material the only other noise in the room besides the footsteps.

Jane looked over at Grace. Her eyes meeting his. Her face steeled against the new development. That solved the whereabouts of the gun.

A small part of him had thought that maybe they were lucky and it fell out of Grace's holster back at the alley. The realistic side of him new exactly what happened and was proven right. Now the only problem was how to play this. Could they get away with saying the gun was for self defense purposes?

In the split second that all the thoughts ran through Jane's head, their captor had stopped his pacing and stood in between the two. Crouching down to their level.

He held the gun out in front of him and stared at it as if it was something foreign to him. Tracing the contours of the cold metal with his other hand, that was when he spoke up for the first time since entering.

"It's amazing really how something so small can cause such devastation." His deep voice reverberated throughout the room. Both Jane and Grace watched his hands intently for any sudden movement but none came. Just the simple exploration of the gun. Like a kid examining every detail of their new toy.

"An item that by itself would be nothing more than a paper weight. But in someone's hands…" His voice rose after he took a breath. "… in someone's hands, all they have to do is point, pull the trigger and bam. The end. No more smiling, no more laughter just… no more." He rested the tip of the gun on his temple and looked over at Grace. A slightly maniacal grin could be seen through his mask. His voice turning into that of childlike curiosity. "Have you ever been shot?"

Grace's eyes widened as her heart beat sped up. The chains holding her hands rattled slightly as she shifted in place. Her hushed voice tried to push the answer past her now tight throat. "No."

"Would you like to try it?" Their captors head perked up as he spoke.

"You don't want to do that." Jane interjected. Hoping to draw his attention away from Grace.

He let out his breath that he didn't know he was holding as their captor slowly rose and looked toward him instead. The hand with the gun dropping slightly.

"Oh and why is that?"

"If you shoot her, then it would be over. You wouldn't be able to draw it out. You strike me as the kind of guy who likes the pain to last."

Grace shot him a look that said 'Don't give him any ideas' but he ignored it for now, focusing solely on the man between them.

"Eager for pain are we?" The man chuckled. "Oh don't worry, I can oblige." With that he started to walk back towards the door.

Jane's shoulders started to relax a little as the man went to exit the room only to stiffen back up again as he heard the noise. The noise that had been sporadically on and off for the past few hours. The noise that for those few hours he was trying to find a way to stop. The noise coming from his right jacket pocket this very moment as their captor was still within earshot. His vibrating cell phone.

With a look that could only be perceived as fury behind the mask, their captor turned back towards them swinging his gun arm around. They had hardly any time to react.

Bang!


End file.
